Give priority to science: Rao

Give priority to science: Rao

Udupi, Jan 10, 2015: U.R. Rao, former Chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation said on Friday that the country should give importance to science and technology to progress.

He was speaking at the inauguration of a two-day regional conference on ‘Ecosystem: Emerging issues’ organised by the Karnataka State Science and Technology Academy and Poornaprajna College, here.

Dr. Rao said the Green Revolution was hailed when food production in the country increased. But in the last few years, food production had stagnated at 230 million tonnes because the persistent use of fertilizers had led to the soil becoming less fertile. Nobody had thought about it while implementing the Green Revolution.

The country would require additional 230 million tonnes of foodgrain by 2050 according to an estimate. There was now a talk of having an “evergreen revolution” in agriculture. But this was unlikely to happen if the proper use of science and technology was not made. Remote sensing satellites could be used to map agrarian area and study diseases that might affect crops, he said.